Clayman is the follow up album to the popular favorite colony. Sadly this great album is often neglected because it has been grouped with the bands later releases (Reroute to Remain and Soundtrack to Your Escape) and has been labeled by some as the beginning of the band's "Sellout Phase." The band still has something to offer to the old school listeners as well as new listeners to the death metal genre.
Bullet Ride 4/5
The albums quickly sucks you in with a wall of guitars playing simple thrash-style guitar riff then the drums kick in LEADING TO...a clean guitar part reminiscent of tool? You ask yourself who is this band? Then a cleaner yet recognizable voice comes in.. It’s the new Anders who does more singing then growling on this album. Then the song explodes and you are met with a catchy melodic riff that could only be written by one band ...In Flames. You also experience a new style of screaming from Anders that is still like those of his Gothenburg brothers yet is more soothing to the ear. Overall the song's contrast of clean and heavy, dark and light, calm and insane is what makes the song what it is. The listener quickly recognizes how much the band has matured in their songwriting. The aggressive attack of speed and melody continues throughout the album making Clayman a "fun listen."
Pinball Map 5/5
Right off the bat the song is a ferocious wall of guitars growling and pure aggression. The band seamlessly leads one of many great melodic riffs found on the album, then you are blindsided with the chorus consisting of a series of nicely arranged chords and singing guaranteed to get stuck in your head. After a nice little drum fill the aggressive singing and bone crushing guitars return and you can’t help but nod that heavy metal head of yours. A cool breakdown is followed by a cool little solo that is very similar to various tracks on Colony.
Only for the Weak 5/5
A very cool synthesized guitar riff starts off this fan favorite grabbing you by the balls through the entire song. The guitar solo fits in so perfectly you won’t notice how truly outstanding it is until your 3rd listen. The perfect blend of aggression and tranquility is found in this song and has yet to matched by any band in my opinion. If you like this song, buy the album.
...As the Future Repeats Today 4/5
One of the heavier tracks on the album yet again very catchy. The only downfall is the lack of melody the might disappoint the old skool fans. But they redeem themselves with the solo.
5 Square Nothing 3.5/5
A minute long clean guitar intro starts off this song. It is eventually met with yet another catchy chorus and has an interesting solo/breakdown but the song just doesn’t appeal to me that much and is probably my least favorite on the album.
Clayman 3.5/5
A quite interesting song, starting off sounding fairly mellow yet it becomes one of the heaviest tracks on the album. My only complaint is that it is the title track.
Satellites and Astronauts 4.5/5
This song is much unlike anything the band has done before this album in its structure. At times mellow, but it packs one hell of a punch with fantastic guitar riffs.
Brush the Dust Away 4/5
This is a rather catchy song with nice melodies throughout. The lyrics for this song are probably the darkest out of the whole album, ‘get in line for the pistol magic just aim and end another but think as I rape your mother". The solo in this song is also reminiscent of the colony era.
Swim 4/5
A jaw dropping guitar melody starts off this track and continues through most of the song.
Suburban Me 4/5
A nice energetic solo starts off this song and nice melodies are found throughout. This song best features Ander’s ability to use a variety of vocal styles those that appeal to the oldskool fans and an intriguing mellow voice. There is a very cool solo in this song where the guitarists show off there ability to shred.
Another Day in Quick Sand 3.5/5
One of the heavier songs on the album with cool harmonizations periodically. Cool lyrics to this one too.
Much like how metallica is the gate way to heavy metal, In Flames’ Clayman is the gateway to Death Metal. Anyone looking to get into the genre, anyone who likes to classify the genre as a bunch of nonsense and noise, or anyone just looking to buy a great CD to rock out too should pick up this album.
